25/11/2025 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
A prominent transgender activist in Turkey was sentenced to prison on "obscenity" charges on Tuesday-coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women-in a ruling her lawyers describe as part of a systematic crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community.
Ankara’s 48th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Janset Kalan to five months in prison and imposed a judicial fine of 400 lira ($11.50) for "obscenity." The court suspended the announcement of the verdict.
The charges stemmed from a photograph posted on a social media account that Kalan says does not belong to her. The indictment cited the visibility of her "legs and cleavage" in the image as grounds for the obscenity charge.
The ruling came as women across Turkey demonstrated to mark November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, highlighting the perceived irony of the judicial timing.
"The alleged crime is simply the visibility of my legs and cleavage," Kalan told the advocacy group KaosGL.org following the hearing. "It is terrifying. By this logic, no one will be able to wear mini dresses, spaghetti straps, or bikinis."
"Targeted by Virtual Patrols"
Kalan stated that despite testifying that the social media account in question was not hers and requesting to file a complaint against the impersonator, the prosecutor dismissed her defense, stating her testimony "should not be credited."
Nergiz Görnaz, Kalan's lawyer, said they intend to appeal the decision. Görnaz argued that the Cyber Crimes Department’s "virtual patrol" units are specifically profiling transgender women.
"The crime of obscenity is being used directly against trans women," Görnaz said. "Virtual patrol operations are conducted specifically to find trans women's accounts, sexualizing their existence on social media. The subsequent investigations are full of irregularities."
According to Kalan, she witnessed another trans woman waiting to be tried on identical charges at the courthouse on the same day. "There are over a hundred files opened against trans women in Ankara alone," she noted.
Ongoing legal pressure
This is not Kalan's first legal battle regarding obscenity charges. Two years ago, police raided her home and confiscated her electronics. In a separate trial last year, she was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined 12,500 lira by the Ankara 19th Criminal Court of First Instance, a decision currently under appeal.
"I have been tried twice and sentenced twice," Kalan said, alleging the judge cut her off during her defense. "This decision is highly political. It is a problem not just for trans women, but for cisgender women as well... I will take this to the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights if necessary."
Janset Kalan is a veteran rights defender, a board member of the Kaos GL Association, and a co-founder of Queer Adana, having worked in LGBTQ+ advocacy for over a decade.
Human rights groups have frequently voiced concern over the deteriorating rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey under the current government, pointing to a rise in hate speech and judicial harassment.
Tags: human rights, women, media, life, trans, lgbti
